shots from down down down under

dls

Just some shots from the near bottom of the world (McMurdo Station, Antarctica). Have been down here for just about a month, and finally have a chance to re-engage in the forums after a period away. Anyways, here are some shots around the Hut Point Peninsula

1. The 'beach' at Hut Point. Well, more accurately, the frozen shelf of sea ice from the tidal actions. Creates sometimes the most incredible sculpted patterns.


2. Interior of the historic Discovery Hut. Built in 1902 for the 1901-1904 British Antarctic Survey Discovery Expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott. Very well preserved secondary to the dry and cold climate here.


3. Scott Base. New Zealand Station. Great food, great people. Just gotta love the Kiwis.


4. Fracturing of the sea ice and parts of the permanent (Ross) Ice Shelf. In part due to unusual climate conditions (not just temp, but wind, swells), much of the annual sea ice/fast ice that surrounds McMurdo Sound went out to sea. We have not seen open water in front of McMurdo since 1999, and Scott Base has not seen it since 1997. Per the veterans of the program here, we have not seen this much open water since 1994, and with the antipated month of warmer temps before the cold/winter weather sets in, more ice is expected to go out to sea. This is problematic from a logistic standpoint, as part of the road to the Pegasus Airfield/Icefield is likely going to be washed away in the weeks ahead (the road sits on the permanent ice shelf), necessitating building of a new road. But this anomaly for this year is a boon for wildlife viewing.


5. Wildlife viewing.

yendikeno

Nice
after I saw these, I had to put a sweatshirt on, because they made me cold.

dlplumer

ChrisJ

Ultra-cool.

Art Scott

bowbowthumbthumbthumb ........great pix!!!!

NorthernFocus

Cool place to work (no pun intended). How do you work a camera with mittens on

BradfordBenn

Great shots. I really like the penguin shot.

canghuixu

Wow, amazing. Thanks!

R.Jay

Hi, #2 is the pick of the bunch for me - fantastic lighting. It is not too difficult to imagine the ghosts of Scott et al sitting on those benches during their long winters of solitude.

Cheers, Richard.

schmoo

I never ever get tired of seeing images from this place. And your shots of the penguins in particular never fail to make me laugh.

Raina.Rae

love the penguin.

saltydog

Wow - thanks for posting these, they are awesome. #1 & 2 are my favorites, I can't even decide between the two of them. I love unusual locations and I hope to catch more of your work here on dgrin soon

wolf911

awesome work, can't imagine visiting such a place. First two are my favorites of these.

dls

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

yendikeno wrote: »

after I saw these, I had to put a sweatshirt on, because they made me cold.

It is actually quite warm today at -11 to -28. It is the wind that is the killer.

NorthernFocus wrote: »

Cool place to work (no pun intended). How do you work a camera with mittens on

Depending on how cold it is out, I can have up to 3 layers of gloves. This includes a liner, a covertable fleece glove/mitten with exposable fingertips, and a gore-tex overmitt for longer duration outside. And it helps to have a infrared wireless remote!

BradfordBenn wrote: »

Great shots. I really like the penguin shot.

Yeah, absolutely love these little critters. They truly have great personality (avianality?), with their frenetic waddle, distractability, frequent vocalizations. Reminds you of a two year old with ADHD. Coul just spend hours out here watching them.

R.Jay wrote: »

Hi, #2 is the pick of the bunch for me - fantastic lighting. It is not too difficult to imagine the ghosts of Scott et al sitting on those benches during their long winters of solitude.

Cheers, Richard.

Thanks. It is one of my fave shots also. Just love that connection to history. A great tribute to the explorers that came before us. And truly amazing the mettle of that generation.

schmoo wrote: »

I never ever get tired of seeing images from this place. And your shots of the penguins in particular never fail to make me laugh.

This place is very spectacular. Still want to be a little more mobile and have the chance to explore beyond the confines of MacTown (McMurdo) or Scott Base, but unfortunately still have to adhere to the winter rules for travel off base here. And really lucked out this year with so much open water, which means more wildlife coming closer to base.

saltydog wrote: »

Wow - thanks for posting these, they are awesome. #1 & 2 are my favorites, I can't even decide between the two of them. I love unusual locations and I hope to catch more of your work here on dgrin soon

Thanks. Have been amazed at the beauty of the ice down here. Have never seen the frozen ice sculpted by tides before. I guess I have never been in a place with that degree of cold and tidal action. But it is absolutely gorgeous. And changes on a daily basis.

kdog

schmoo wrote: »

I never ever get tired of seeing images from this place. And your shots of the penguins in particular never fail to make me laugh.

I agree. Especially that shot in your avatar. That is truly epic. I would love to go to Antarctica some day. You are very lucky!